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ELECTRIC RAILWAY. No. 457,240. Patented Aug. 4, 1891.

. UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE. l

SAMUEL E. VHEATLEY AND JOHN IV. SCHLOSSER, OF VVVASHINCrTON, DIS- TRICTOF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE VHELESS ELECTRIC RAILVAY COMPANY, OF SAMEPLACE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 457,240, dated August4, 1891. Application led April 2, 1891. Serial No. 387.388. (No model.)

, To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that we, SAMUEL E. VHEAT- LEY and JOHN W. ScHLossER, ofWashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certainImprovements in Electric Railways, ot` which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to that class of electric railways in which a`working conductor extending lengthwise of the road is divided 1o intoshort lengths or sections, each ot` which is fed during the time thatthe car is passing over it from a continuous main lead or conductorthrough an automatic switch. Heretofore the automatic switch has beencontrolled in part by a local circuit, including a battery on the car,so that when the circuit through the motor was interrupted theconnection between the working conductor and the main line wasalso-interrupted.

` 2o The aim ofthe present invention is mainly to do away with thenecessity for the local circuit and battery and provide for controllingthe switch which connects the working conductor with the main line bymeans ot' the main current and the mechanical appliances on the car. Tothis end we provide a lever or equivalent device through which thetrolley or other projection on the car acts mechanically to close theswitch and connect the 3o working conductor with the main line, the

switch being provided with one or more magnets included in the circuitto hold the switch in a yclosed position. This motor-circuit iscompleted from the working conductor 3 5 through the motor to one ot thetram-rails to the ground or otherwise. fVhen the motor is to be stopped,the current is'shunted past it, leaving the circuit still closed, sothat the connection with -t-he main line remains until the 4o circuit isiinallyopened by the trolley passing from the end of the section.

Our improvements are applicable alike to railways in which overhead andunderground conductors are employed. \Ve prefer, however, to use anunderground conduit, and have accordingly represented Vthis system inthe drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a diagram illustrating thearrangement of the 5o circuits and the construction and arrangement ofthe car and its connections to operate therewith. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, showing particularly thedevices for closing the main switch and keeping the same closed. Fig. 3isaper- 55 spective view of the switch and its connections. Fig. 4 is atop plan view of the car with the motor, conductor, and other. parts inoperative positions. Fig. 5 is a similar view with the parts in theposition occupied when 6o the car is at rest.

Referring to the drawings, A and A represent the ordinary track-rails;B, a car movable thereon and provided with an ordinary electric motor C,geared to one ot its axles, the motor-circuit connecting on one side, asusual, with one ofthe wheels or an equivalent conductor to one of thetrack-rails and connecting on the opposite side with a rheostat c to atrolley or brush c', intended to travel 7o on the working conductor.

D is the main conductor or lead extending uninterruptedly from thedynamo or other source of supply E throughout the length of the road.This main lead is commonlyinsulated and buried in the earth outside ofthe track; but it may be arranged in any other suitable position.

F F F2, &c., are the sections of the working conductor on which thebrnsh'or trolley 8o rides, arranged in'a conduit or tunnel G, locatedbeneath the track-rails or in any other convenient position. Theseworking conductors or sections, having a naked surface, are arranged endto end throughout the length 8 5 of the road, being sustained bybracketsII or otherwise and insulated from each other and from the other partsof the/system. Each of these workingconductors F F is connected at itstwo ends through an electro-magnet 9o switch I with the main line orfeeder D. These switches stand normally in an open p0- sition, so thateach of the working conductors is disconnected from the main line atboth ends.

The details of the switch are shown in Figs.

2 and 3. frepresentsa branch wire from the main conductor leadingthrough an electromagnet f to an electrode f2, which is connected whenrequired'through conductor f3 no with electrode f4,fron1 which thebranch wire f extends toA the working conductor F. When therefore theconductor f3 is closed against the electrodes, the circuitis completedbetween the main conductor D and the worklng conductorF. Theswitch-conductorj"3 is carried by a .horizontally-swinging leverf, oneend of which is provided with an armaturej17 in the field of1nagnetj",while the 0pposite end of the lever is projected into the pathof the trolley or brush c on the car. Vhen therefore the car leaving theend of one working section approaches the end of the next, it acts uponthe end ot' lever f and causes ythe same to close the switch, so as toconnect the next working section with the main line. At the instant thisoccurs the circuit is completed from themain line through the switch tothe working conductor, and thence through the motor on the car to thetrack-rail. As the circuit embraces the magnets f', it acts to hold theswitch in a closed position, and thus maintains the connection betweentheworking conductor and the main line as long as the car remains uponthe section.

Itis obvious that if a circuit were interrupted in 'order to stop themotor the magnet would release the switch and render it impossible toclose the circuit from the car. 7e therefore provide for shunting thecurrent past the motor without interrupting the circuit. This may beeifected by any form of switch which Will shunt the current past themotor. In Figs. t and 5 of the drawings we have represented a verysimple and efficient arrangement. The rotary arm cgof an ordinaryrheostat, such as now generally used on electric cars, and through whichthe current enters from the trolley or brush, is arranged to contactwith a switch c3, which is held normally open by aspring c4. Vhen thearm c2 is turned back to cut off the circuit through the motor, itcontacts with switch c3, carrying the same back until it establishesconnection through the shunt-circuit c5 with the wheel or other groundconnection. It follows, therefore, that although the current may be cutoff from the motor to arrest the car the circuit is maintained from theworking conductor through the switch, which latter acts to maintain theconnection of the working conductor with the main line. As the carpasses over that end of the working conductor which is most remote fromthe switch in action it opens the circuit and the switch is at onceopened by the spring, so

that each conductor-section is disconnected from the main line as thecar leaves it. As the switches are arranged in duplicate at both ends ofthe working conductors, one with its operating-lever movable to theright and the other with the lever movable to vthe left, the system isadapted forcars moving in both directions.

form and arrangement at will, the only essential requirement being thatthe vcar in passing shall close the switch and complete the circuit, andthat the magnet to hold the switch closed shall be included in thecircuit thus established.

As shown in the drawings, each of the switch-operating levers isprovided at one end with a hinged spring-supported' section adapted toyield in one direction,v so that the cars moving in one direction overthe road will close only the alternate switches, those at the beginningof the working conductors.

Having thus described our l invention, what we claim is- 1. ln anelectric-railway system, a continuous main-line conductor or lead fromthe generator, in combination with a seriesl of working conductorsarranged end to end', a switch for each workin g conductor to connectthe same temporarily with the main line, a mechanism actuated by theadvancing car to close the switch, and an electro-magnet in the workingcircuit to hold the switch in a closed condition until said circuit isopened at another point.

2. In an electric-railway system, a mainline conductor extending fromthe' generator throughout the length of the road, a series ofrelatively-short insulated working conductors,a switch for each workingconductor to connect the same temporarily with the main line, atrack-lever for each switch, through which the advancing car acts toclose the switch as it approaches the working conductor, a magnet ineach working circuit to keep its switch closed for the time being, and acar provided with an electric motor with conductors for directingthecurrent from the working conductor through the motor and with means forshunting the circuit past the motor, whereby each working conductor ismechanically switched into action as the car approaches it andmaintained in action by the working current until the car leaves theconductor.

In testimony whereof we hereunto set our hands, this 1st day of April,1891, in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

SAMUEL E. VHEATLEY. JOHN W. SCHLOSSE-R.

Vitnesses:

W. R. KENNEDY, FABrUs STANLY ELMoRE.

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